Dressage for Life

Finding the right instructor is the most important part of learning to ride.  It’s even more critical for adult riders. For one thing, we are way more needy than kids and so you want a coach who is patient and understands that you need a lot of encouragement to get on a 1000 pound animal week after week.  I’m so needy I think I drive my coach crazy sometimes asking for assurance that I’m riding better or that it’s not all my fault if Dody isn’t going to be a dressage superstar by next week.  Linda even tells me that my horse wouldn’t  be progressing faster if she was riding him which I know is a lot of horse hockey!  Still, I really appreciate her telling me that. 

So what do you look for? 

I think it’s important to have a coach who is an adult.  Someone you can relate to and feel comfortable talking to.  My coach and I are the same age.  We’ve become good friends and we can talk to each other about anything.  Sometimes going to the barn is less about riding and more about spending time with people I like.  I start my lesson walking in a 15 meter circle for 1o minutes chatting.  I usually laugh a lot and it relaxes me. 

Trust is a must.  The fear of falling off is scary for anyone, child, teen or adult.  But it can be terrifying for us older folks.  We don’t feel invincible anymore or remotely flexible and we’re sure we’ll break into a million tiny pieces if we hit the ground.  The thing is that if you ride you will fall off so you have to know that your coach will never ask you to do something you’re not skilled enough to do.  If she says you’re ready to trot for the first time it means that you can do it.

Right after trust is patience for all the reasons above.

Finally, find someone you whose horse skills you admire and makes you think someday you’d like to be able to ride just like them.

Don’t be afraid to try out different coaches until you find the right one for you.  It could be the difference between years of fun and missing out on the incredible experiencing of riding horses.